Transocean’s (RIG) Buy Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Benchmark reiterated their buy rating on shares of Transocean (NYSE:RIG) in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $8.00 price objective on the offshore drilling services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on RIG. Bank of America increased their price objective on Transocean from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Susquehanna raised Transocean from a neutral rating to a positive rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $5.50 to $9.00 in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Transocean from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $7.22.

Transocean Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RIG traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $5.05. 7,591,277 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,044,840. Transocean has a 1 year low of $4.45 and a 1 year high of $8.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business has a 50 day moving average of $5.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.56.

Transocean (NYSE:RIG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $861.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $862.25 million. Transocean had a negative return on equity of 4.76% and a negative net margin of 11.34%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.15) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Transocean will post -0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Transocean news, Director (Cyprus) Ltd Perestroika bought 2,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $5.23 per share, with a total value of $10,460,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 89,574,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,476,695.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 13.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Transocean

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new position in shares of Transocean during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Transocean in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Transocean in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Transocean by 1,489.8% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 8,537 shares of the offshore drilling services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiducient Advisors LLC bought a new position in Transocean in the 1st quarter valued at $63,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Transocean Company Profile

Transocean Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells worldwide. It contracts mobile offshore drilling rigs, related equipment, and work crews to drill oil and gas wells. The company operates a fleet of mobile offshore drilling units, consisting of ultra-deepwater floaters and harsh environment floaters.